H.S. HOCKEY: Hingham boys watching out for the Super 8

Wednesday

Jan 31, 2018 at 1:21 AM

Don’t look now but the Hingham High hockey team has won four of its last five games and was featured on the first official Super 8 watch list on Monday.

The list consists of 19 schools at the moment and will change over the next four weeks as the season winds down. Once a final list of 12 is decided on, the MIAA Ice Hockey Committee will choose their Super 8.

Hingham always deals itself a tough schedule so when the Harbormen are successful they’re in the Super 8 picture. It’s one of the advantages of having such a hard schedule.

“By the factor of our schedule I think we’re going to be on it if we do a solid job,” said Hingham coach Tony Messina. “We play a lot of those teams so it’s all just a matter of sorting itself out.”

The Harbormen are hot right now but they are far from perfect with a good chunk of the season still left. Messina tries to make sure his team doesn’t look too far down the road.

“We’re just happy to be a part of it,” Messina said of being on the watch list. “We just have to take it one period at a time. So that’s what we’ll do starting Saturday with Pope Francis (11-1-2).”

It’s safe to say this young team is battle-tested now as they’ve gone up against some of the state’s best talent. A huge reason for their success has been the play of their senior goaltender Robbie Kornack.

The Hingham goalie has been a force in net with a total of five shutouts thus far, two of those coming in the last three games.

“The way he plays sort of puts the team at ease, he’s very smooth and we rely on him a ton,” Messina said of his goalie.

The team shows great appreciation for their goalie as well. Kornack has won the defensive hard hat award several times this season and following the shutout of Reading on Monday night he got a pat on the back from a teammate shouting, ‘Defensive player of the game right there!’

“Our schedule coming up has a lot of contenders on the watch list so if we do really well and show that we’re ready for the Super 8 then I think we’ll definitely make it in there,” said Kornack following Monday’s victory.

At the same time, Kornack knows not to put the cart before the horse, these Harbormen still have to prove their worth to the MIAA Committee.

Hingham will have their work cut out for them Saturday against a very tough Pope Francis (another Super 8 watch list school) team in West Springfield. The Harbormen had a similar test back in mid January when they had to travel up to Burlington. Hingham prevailed in that game 3-1.

Messina had his boys ready for that far away road game and he should have them ready for this pivotal game.

“They’re always excellent, it’s always hard to play them out there,” said Messina. “We know what to expect. They’ll be quick and very talented. We’re going to have to play a very strong defensive game, keep it simple, and see what we can do on the other end.”

A win against an elite team like Pope Francis would tilt the Super 8 odds in Hingham’s favor. The Hingham-Pope Francis showdown will be Saturday at 11:20 a.m. in West Springfield.